A dark cloud remains over the Downtown Facility and Fieldhouse Board as a third special investigation meeting was held with some members of city council Monday afternoon. All meetings are to be promoted on the city's website and while the evening council meeting and executive meetings were published, the afternoon meeting to deal with the investigation was not. Even so, the meeting was quickly closed to the public and media, lasting for much of the afternoon.

The investigation was launched following a two-part meeting that started in early July and was continued on August 8th, resulting in the motion to investigate "staff issues' at Mosaic Place and Yara Centre. At both of those meetings, Councillors Brian Swanson, Scott McMann and Crystal Froese left with no explanation given until minutes from the meetings revealed they had declared a conflict of interest because the investigation is about allegations that have been brought against them. What those allegations are have not been discussed openly.

The councillors also excused themselves from any presentation of information or reports regarding the DFFH, once again declaring a conflict of interest. A DFFH Board meeting that was scheduled for last week was cancelled moments before it was to start without explanation. Meeting minutes are missing from the City of Moose Jaw's website with nothing being released after May 24th and agendas for meetings held after June 14th are also missing.

When all was said and done, a motion was passed calling for the administration to draft a new bylaw for the governance of the DFFH, a bylaw that has already been in place since 2013 and was amended in 2017. Normally, a bylaw is amended if simple changes are needed but a complete replacement would only be needed if major changes are being explored.

Just like the past meetings, all parties involved are staying quiet. Mayor Fraser Tolmie spoke with us briefly last week but a written statement was provided to the media following the last meeting;

“There is an ongoing personnel investigation. Council is taking appropriate steps to ensure that concerns are being addressed. To protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of those involved, I will not be making any further statements.”

Moose Jaw Police have been contacted and at the time, said they were not involved in any way. City Manager Jim Puffalt has been identified as the person in charge of the internal investigation. Two more special meetings have been set for this week, Wednesday and Thursday at 5:30 pm.